Bataille des Primarques

[TheBoss™]

Le résultat était prévisible (ou normal selon son allégeance) pour les loyalistes...

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Primarch Death Match Part 1: Loyalists

 

 

One of the eternal questions whenever fans of the Warhammer 40,000 universe gather is who would win in a fight between Primarchs. We’ve seen a fair few clashes between these demigod brothers in the Horus Heresy novel series, but we decided that, since we have tabletop rules and gorgeous models for almost all of them, we’d simply fight it out and see! Over the next three days, we’ll be pitting Primarchs against one another and discovering who comes out on top – and we’re starting today with the Loyalists. 

Being generally civilised and friendly sorts (when they’re not out conquering the galaxy and wiping out alien threats), we reckoned the Loyalists would agree to some ground rules before they began. For the purposes of this contest, they’ll fight one-on-one, randomly paired, with the winner of each bout moving on to face another champion. Last demigod standing is the winner. They’re going to stick to melee – no shooting or charging. And they might stop for cups of tea at half-time. With the rules agreed and the battle arena readied, we got to rolling dice!

Oh, one more thing – you might notice there are only eight of the nine loyal sons of the Emperor represented here. Jaghatai Khan was off on the fringes of the Imperium and couldn’t be located for the tournament – just like him, eh?*

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Dorn and Ferrus were pretty evenly matched, both stalwart builders and defenders. Storm’s Teeth and Forgebreaker clashed in a blaze of sparks as they fought to a standstill over many rounds. Finally, Ferrus’ additional attack from his servo-arm punched through Dorn’s defences, and the Praetorian knelt before the Gorgon, sending Ferrus Manus to Round 2! Must have been nice for him to win a fight against a fellow Primarch for a change… Maybe because he kept his head this time. (Too soon?)

An expert duellist against a brawler with a big hammer – this was going to be fun. The battle started pretty well for Vulkan – despite taking an early wound from the Lion Sword, he struck back with Dawnbringer and dealt some heavy damage to his brother. This proved to be a mistake. The extra attacks Jonson earned from The Lion’s Choler, coupled with his sword’s Fleshbane, proved just too much for Vulkan to take, and the Promethean Fire was snuffed out. Sure, he’ll come back – it’s kinda his thing – but for now, the Lion moves forward.

Corax struck first (as is his wont), his various weapons lashing out with a staggering nine attacks thanks to his Scourge fighting style – but Guilliman’s Armour of Reason stopped them all. The Master of Ultramar returned the attack, to no avail. Corax chose to Shadow-walk and slipped a blade through Guilliman’s defences, which the Ultramarines Primarch quickly recovered from through It Will Not Die. Evenly matched, the pair fought to a standstill for more than 12 ROUNDS, neither one giving an inch of ground, dice rolls refusing to favour one over the other… before Guilliman, ever the peacemaker and statesman, bowed out muttering something under his breath that sounded a bit like “…got better things to do. There’s an Imperium to be run…”. Corvus immediately took advantage and pushed Roboute out of the competition with one last ambush. Now they’re just arguing over whether Guilliman ‘let him win’ or if Corax tired him into submission. 

 

The Executioner vs the Angel! Despite their evenly matched profiles, Sanguinius struck first thanks to his Sire of the Blood Angels rule, and swung the Blade Encarmine, dealing two wounds to the Wolf King! The Axe of Helwinter responded, dealing two back! From this point, the advantage went Russ’ way, the creeping frost from his armour making it harder for Sanguinius to hit. After just a couple of rounds, the Angel’s wings had been clipped, and Russ was on his way to the next round.

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Robbed of the Initiative advantage he’d held against Dorn, Ferrus Manus struggled against the expert swordsmanship of the First Primarch. Though Forgebreaker struck some rattling blows against the Lion’s armour, they only infuriated Jonson, and eventually the Lion Sword and knightly prowess saw the Dark Angels Primarch take his place in the final, while Ferrus just felt lucky to still be in one piece.

Russ’ higher Weapon Skill and the aura of frost from the Armour Elavagar put Corax at a marked disadvantage going into this bout – even his Shadow-walk fighting style wouldn’t put them on an even keel. As he struggled to land any blows, Russ steadily hacked away with the Axe of Helwinter, and before long, the Ravenlord was grounded and the Wolf King flying high as he prepared to face his old rival…

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The Lion and the Wolf face one another once again. These most bitter of rivals circled each other warily and Jonson struck – only to miss completely despite his Absolute Focus ignoring the penalty from Russ’ armour! So much for being the best duellist among the Primarchs… Russ’ return blow caused four wounds… all saved. The next couple of rounds saw them chip wounds from each other, and The Lion’s Choler kicked in. Now more evenly matched than before, the pair continued to hack away at one another, until eventually the Lion knocked off Russ’ last wound. With equal Initiative, it was possible that Russ could bring his opponent low as well as his last act… but the Axe of Helwinter glanced off the Leonine Panoply (thanks to a re-rolled invulnerable save!) leaving Lion El’Jonson the Loyalist champion!

And there you have it! The Lion will go through to the Grand Final, facing off against the champion of the Traitors. Who will that be? Join us tomorrow to find out. In the meantime, head to Black Library’s Horus Heresy page to find loads of stories containing Primarch clashes. You might particularly want to check out Chris Wraight’s Leman Russ: The Great Wolf to see how the feud between Russ and Jonson started in the first place!

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* This has absolutely nothing at all to do with needing even numbers for a bracketed competition.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/04/27/primarch-death-match-part-1-loyalists/

[TheBoss™]

Comme pour les traîtres :

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Part 2: Traitors

 

 

“Who would win in a fight between…” These immortal words are uttered wherever Warhammer 40,000 fans gather (online, these days), often followed by names of Primarchs. Well, we are here to find out! Yesterday, we pitted the Loyalist sons of the Emperor against each other to determine which of them was the champion. Today, it’s the turn of the Traitors – and it’s gonna get messy.

While the Loyalists played by a very strict set of rules, anything goes where Chaos is involved. There are no brackets here, no one-on-one duels, no restrictions on weapons or anything else. It’s nine Primarchs in an arena, and the last one standing wins and faces the Loyalist champion in tomorrow’s grand final.

Our combatants were placed in the hands of our advanced Primarch Behavioural Simulator* to determine their actions. What old grudges would be settled in this arena of death? Who would dive straight into combat, and who would hold back to pick off the survivors of the initial bouts? Would anyone dare to attack Horus? It was time to find out!

The first round saw Angron, predictably, speed towards the nearest target – the Night Haunter, who was only too happy to oblige his brother’s bloodlust. Gorefather and Gorechild struck, and a combination of Furious Charge, Hatred and some really unfortunate invulnerable save rolls reduced Curze to a single Wound! The injured Primarch hit back with Mercy & Forgiveness, causing a wound which Angron laughed off. In the second round, Curze caused Angron another wound, and in return, the gladiator’s chainaxes ripped the Night Haunter apart. First blood to Angron – which would only make him more deadly, as he gained an additional Attack…

Perturabo and Fulgrim were ever disdainful of each other, the Phoenician’s flamboyance in marked contrast to the Lord of Iron’s utilitarian leanings. As Fulgrim approached, Perturabo opened fire with his wrist blaster, causing a wound to the Emperor’s Children Primarch. Fulgrim closed the distance and roared out a challenge, which Perturabo accepted with a nod. Fulgrim’s Sublime Swordsman rule gave him a whopping nine attacks with the Blade of the Laer, causing no fewer than four wounds to Perturabo! The return blows missed the agile Fulgrim, who struck out again, taking the Iron Warrior’s last two Wounds and laying him low.

Alpharius and Lorgar both attempted to go for the heart of the Traitor alliance and take down Horus himself in a sneak assault – but the Warmaster was ready for them. Horus raked Alpharius with bolter fire, driving him back, while Lorgar leapt to the attack. The high priest’s blows bounced from Horus’ armour, and the Lupercal’s return attack with his talon tore into Lorgar’s chest, causing three wounds and reducing his Weapon Skill and Strength. A second round of combat quickly saw Lorgar put down, the Dark Gods abandoning him when they saw Horus’ power…

Meanwhile, Mortarion, never a fan of magic, made a beeline for Magnus to settle some old scores. The Red Cyclops steeled himself for the assault with the psychic power Iron Arm, bringing himself to Strength 10 and Toughness 9 – but would that be enough against Mortarion’s mighty scythe? Silence fell, but Magnus was left unharmed and the Blade of Ahn-Nunurta lashed out. With Magnus’ warp-enhanced Strength behind it, it caused two wounds, both of which Mortarion saved. The two continued to battle to a standstill.

Alpharius, rather than face the Warmaster’s might, closed on the duelling Magnus and Mortarion, driving the Pale Spear into the sorcerer’s side and causing three wounds! A slightly wounded Fulgrim leapt into the fray from across the cage with a flurry of blows directed at the distracted Alpharius. With his spear taking up residence in Mortarion’s side, the Hydra fell swiftly to the Phonecian’s onslaught.

Mortarion followed up with a scything blow from Silence and took Magnus’ head from his body.

Angron leapt into the scrum as well now, or what was left of it, and made short, extremely gory work of the Emperor’s Children Primarch as he was cleaning his blade and admiring the pattern of viscera that slicked the floor…

Horus watched as the Death Lord and Red Angel now came to blows, content to let them destroy each other. Angron’s sheer fury won out, though Mortarion gave a good account of himself, leaving Angron injured. But would he be easy prey for Horus?

Finally, the blood-soaked and wounded butcher faced down the Warmaster, who beckoned with his talon. Angron charged, wounding Horus once. Lupercal laughed and slammed Worldbreaker fatally down on Angron’s head, taking the last of his Wounds and proving once and for all that he, and only he, was the true chosen of Chaos.

And there you have it – proof positive that Horus is the greatest of the Traitor Primarchs. Will he manage to defeat Lion El’Jonson and claim the title of Greatest Primarch Ever? Join us tomorrow to find out… In the meantime, check out the Horus Heresy Primarchs range of stories to find out more about all the fighters – and head to the Forge World Facebook page with your predictions about who’s going to come out on top in the Grand Final.

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* Someone who’s read all the books and has an ample supply of dice.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/04/28/part-2-traitors/

[TheBoss™]

Sans surprise.

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Part 3: Grand Finale

 

 

Which Primarch would win in a fight? Over the last two days, we’ve been answering this very question. First, we set the Loyalist Primarchs against each other in a well-organised, gentlemanly contest that saw Lion El’Jonson come out on top. Next, we put all the Traitors in an arena and came back to find Horus atop a heap of battered bodies. Now, we have the Grand Finale.

In the blue corner, weighing in at… heavy, we have the Master of the First Legion, Son of the Forest, Lord of Caliban: Lion El’Jonson!

In the red corner, you know him, you love him (or at least fear him). He’s the Favoured Son, the Warmaster, the Breaker of Tyrants: Horus Lupercal!

Two Primarchs. One arena. Only one can win. Let the dice rolling commence!

With his Initiative 7, the Lion struck first, lashing out with the Lion Blade. Horus’ armour, the mighty Serpent’s Scales, deflected the blows, and the Warmaster casually swung the Warmaster’s Talon, rending the Leonine Panoply and taking a wound from the Lion.

The Disabling Strike ability of the Talon reduced the Lion’s Weapon Skill and Strength by 1 each… but it didn’t matter – the Dark Angels Primarch’s Absolute Focus and the Fleshbane trait on the Lion Sword meant that he’d still be hitting on 4+ and wounding on 2+ regardless. The vengeful Lion caused a wound to Horus, who retaliated with his mighty mace Worldbreaker, stripping another wound from his opponent and reducing his Initiative to 1 for the next combat round thanks to the Concussion rule.

Horus attacked first this time, Worldbreaker once again smashing aside the Lion’s defences, causing two wounds. The Lion’s Choler kicked in big-time, raising his Attacks value to 7, and his flurry of blows with the Lion Sword sent Horus reeling, having suffered another wound. The 1st Legion Primarch was feeling the pain, still at Initiative 1, and the advantage lay firmly with the traitor Warmaster.

Horus cast aside Worldbreaker, intent on finishing the Lion off by impaling him on his talon, but the First Primarch parried his attack. The Lion’s riposte caught the Warmaster by surprise, and – helped by a trio of 1s on Horus’ save rolls – caused three damage, reducing Horus to his final Wound! Tzeentch must have been distracted for a moment…

With the concussive effects of Worldbreaker subsiding, the Lion pressed his advantage, but the Dark Gods protected their champion, with Horus saving no fewer than nine wounds across the two rounds! Such was the ferocity of the Lion’s attack that the Warmaster found it difficult to strike back – there were a lot of low rolls. What few hits he did manage were deflected by the Leonine Panoply.

The Warmaster and the Lion circled one another warily, each bleeding freely from their wounds. This was it – the final clash that would decide once and for all which of them was the mightiest. Jonson’s higher initiative allowed him to strike first, getting four hits from his 7 Attacks. All four wounded, and breath was stilled as the save rolls rattled around the dice tray… including Horus’ breath, as one of them failed, robbing Horus of his last wound.

Horus fell and the Lion held his sword aloft. Battered and bloodied, he nevertheless remained unbowed, first among equals.

And there we have it – the dice have had their day. Maybe the wrong Angel fought the Warmaster on the Vengeful Spirit… Would the Horus Heresy have ended differently if the Lion had made it to Terra? Did Jonson get lucky not to fall earlier in this clash? Would another Loyalist have taken the traitor down quicker, or perhaps the Lion could have been tamed by Angron or Magnus?

 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/04/29/part-3-grand-finale/

 

Une synthèse des clashs de Primarques durant l'héréise est développé dans cet article : https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/04/29/battling-brothers/